If you went out to buy something and came home with something more expensive than what you originally planned, you’ve been up-sold. According to Wikepedia (link), “Up-selling is a sales technique whereby a salesman attempts to have the consumer purchase more expensive items, upgrades, or other add-ons in an attempt to make a more profitable […]
Credit Card Dispute Against Priceline
This is an update to my credit card dispute against Priceline. When I went on vacation a few months ago, Priceline gave me a bad hotel. I’m usually not very picky. But this time it was bad enough for me to file a dispute with my credit card company against Priceline. It was the only […]
Disputed Credit Card Charge Against Priceline
When I go on vacation, I usually use Priceline’s Name Your Price™ service for a hotel room. You specify an area in the city, a quality level (3-star, 4-star, etc.), the dates, and the price you want to pay. Priceline tries to find a hotel for you at that price. If it accepts your bid, […]
Maxed Out: Documentary About Debt in America
I watched a documentary Maxed Out on DVD over the weekend. It’s about debt in America, especially credit card debt. It featured people who are in debt, people who lost their loved ones to debt, a Harvard Law School professor, Dave Ramsey, debt collectors, a pawn shop owner, and many other people involved in debt […]
Looking for a Photo Sharing Site
I’m looking for a photo sharing site now that Yahoo! announced that they will terminate Yahoo! Photos. I think my requirements are simple and reasonable, yet I’m drawing a blank after looking at many photo sharing sites. Here are my requirements: Free service. I don’t have many photos. When I travel I take some pictures. […]
Successful Business Strategy: Selling Hope
While reading newspapers on a plane, I discovered a winning business strategy: Selling Hope. The products you sell don’t have to work as advertised. They may or may not. That’s not the point. All you have to do is selling the hope that they will work. There are plenty of examples for this strategy. Airborne […]
Opt In or Opt Out: The Power of the Default Option
I read a great article on New York Times last week, Unnatural Selections. The author, Mr. Barry Schwartz is a professor of psychology at Swarthmore College. He wrote about the power of the default option. People tend to stay with the default option presented to them because deviating from the default option requires making a […]
Who Pays for Credit Card Rewards and Rebates?
There is debate about whether one should charge everything on credit cards for reaping the rewards (cash rebate or miles) or pay everything by cash (and by debit card and checks). In this post I examine the source of the credit card rewards. If I charge everything on credit cards, pay the balance in full […]
Giving Gift Cards as Holiday Gifts
Many people are buying gift cards as holiday gifts. I read somewhere that gift cards will account for something like 30% of the gift spending this holiday season. Apparently financial services companies and retailers are catching on and trying to make some money on this trend. American Express, Discover, and some banks sell gift cards […]
Selling a Used Car, Part 4: Closing the Deal
This is the fourth and final installment of a 4-part series about my recent experience in selling my used car. The other posts in the series are: Selling a Used Car, Part 1: Preparation Selling a Used Car, Part 2: Placing an Ad Selling a Used Car, Part 3: Test Drive and Negotiation I now have a willing […]
Selling a Used Car, Part 3: Test Drive and Negotiation
This is the third installment of a 4-part series about my recent experience in selling my used car. The other posts in the series are: Selling a Used Car, Part 1: Preparation Selling a Used Car, Part 2: Placing an Ad Selling a Used Car, Part 4: Closing the Deal The car was ready. An ad was placed on Craigslist. Just […]
Selling a Used Car, Part 2: Placing an Ad
This is the second installment of a 4-part series about my recent experience in selling my used car. The other posts in the series are: Selling a Used Car, Part 1: Preparation Selling a Used Car, Part 3: Test Drive and Negotiation Selling a Used Car, Part 4: Closing the Deal The car is ready […]